Fifteen children from the Novopetrivka special school in the Mykolaiv region went the way from their native school through the occupied Crimea to the Russian Anapa. Instead of lessons and a safe childhood, armed military personnel, a ban on the native language, and coercion to sing the anthem of the aggressor country.

Under the procedural supervision of the prosecutors of the Prosecutor General’s Office, a comprehensive investigation of this war crime was conducted. A complete route for the illegal movement of children has been established, and those involved have been identified, including a serviceman of the armed forces of the aggressor state and two collaborators from the temporarily occupied Kherson region.

Evidence has been collected for use in both national courts and international institutions. The accused have been added to the sanctions lists, and the indictment has been submitted to trial under part 2 of Article 28, part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

During the occupation of the village of Novopetrivka, 15 children remained in the local special school: ten were deprived of parental care, two were orphans, two were admitted to the institution due to difficult life circumstances, and another child was adopted by US citizens at the time of deportation.

From the first days of the occupation, the Russian military, which included one of the future defendants, regularly visited the school to check the presence and number of children. In July 2022, the director, concerned about their safety, began looking for ways to evacuate to the territory controlled by Ukraine. This was learned by the military, who arrived at the institution armed, interrogated the headmistress, and established armed controls to prevent the transportation of the children.

The next day, about twenty armed soldiers of the Russian Federation forcibly transported the children together with the director and her husband to the village of Stepanivka, Kherson region, deep into the occupied territory, where they stayed for three months.

In October of the same year, two collaborators, threatening to use violence, organized their further movement: from Stepanivka to the river station of Kherson, then by boat to the city of Oleshki, and from there by bus through the city of Armyansk (AR Crimea) to the railway station of Dzhankoy. There, the children were met by representatives of the occupation "authorities" and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation. On the same day, they were deported to Anapa (Krasnodar Territory, Russian Federation) by a separate train car.

Children were subjected to ideological pressure every day: they were forced to sing the anthem of the aggressor country, to participate in events with the imposition of pro-Russian views, and they were forbidden to communicate in Ukrainian or use Ukrainian symbols.

The investigation established that there were no objective grounds for "evacuation." The children did not require medical care or additional screening; the school had a bomb shelter, supplies of food, medicine, and hygiene products, and the situation in the settlement remained stable.

The actions of the accused are qualified as violations of the laws and customs of war. The forcible displacement of civilians from the occupied territory, especially children, is a flagrant violation of Article 49 of the IV Geneva Convention of 1949 and a war crime under international humanitarian law.

With the coordinated work of Ukrainian law enforcement officers, international partners, and volunteer organizations, all children were taken from the territory of Russia to safe places abroad. The adopted child is currently in the United States with guardians.

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15 children from Mykolaiv region were forcibly taken to Russia. The Prosecutor General’s completed the investigation of this war crime, obtained the inclusion of suspects on the sanctions lists and submitted the indictment to trial.